In every romance book you read there are tropes or archetypes. You can also see them in shows, movies, plays, etc. Romantic tropes are everywhere, and they are fabulous. I adore them. I adore some of them and I always tend to find my favorite ones in romance books so I can enjoy them more. I decided to do a sort of Trope Friday piece where I will be talking about many tropes and recommend you all some of my favorites that fit.
What is a trope? Urban Dictionary explains it best I think: “Despite the erroneous definitions already published here, trope on the interwebs really refers to an often overused plot device. It can also be described as another variation on the same theme. TV shows, movies, comics, games, anime’, & books are full of tropes & many rabid fan-sites now name & track said tropes with a self-explanatory title for each one.” We can name a few: accidental pregnancy, best friends to lovers, sibling’s best friend, marriage of convenience, and so many more for sure. Your favorite couples? They probably got a trope too! It’s always so nice to realize or find out your favorite romance trope and keep searching for books with the same theme.
Today is all about hate to love, tho. Or more so dislike to love. I know “hate” is such a strong word. When someone really hates you, how can you fall in love with them, right? So I guess most of the books I categorize as hate to love before are really dislike to love because they just like to banter and there is for sure some sort of rivalry and opposites attract happening. But they don’t really want to end the other person. Unless we’re talking about SFF which is definitely different and I love them too! There are definitely many variations to this trope, that’s the fascinating part!
What I love about this trope is the banter definitely. It’s the conflicting feelings they have when they realize “wait a minute… but I didn’t like this person! Why am I blushing and having butterflies in my tummy!” It’s so interesting to me really. Another thing is that most of the times one main character has wrongly judge the other main character and viceversa and this is where the dislike to love trope enters because when they finally get to know better or realize that hey this person isn’t so bad as I thought, the falling in love part starts. Truly there are so many things that one can love about this trope: add the childhood friends trope and you get years of them knowing each other but having that big ball of tension between them.
Some of my favorite books have this trope of course. I’m here to share the love and really make you all read them too and share your thoughts with me! You can totally @ me on Twitter and do the thing. I’m so into talking about books with fellow readers so I get too excited 24/7. Let’s get started with those titles, alright?
Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn
This not only has a hate to love trope but it has SUPERHEROES. You heard right. It takes place in San Francisco and follows Evie Tanaka, best friend and assistant of Aveda Jupiter, one of the most beloved superheroes. It also has friendship because it talks about the relationship between Evie and Aveda, their feelings about their powers and Aveda’s behind-the-scenes job when she gets hurt. It all really fits together well and you get a wonderful story. But talking about the trope specifically, Nate and Evie really don’t like each other at first, always bantering and disagreeing. It’s very charming and you will fall in love with them from the first time they interact. It’s a really sweet journey to follow!
Pretty Face by Lucy Parker
This theatre director and actress really don’t like each other after their first conversation. But with reason! Yet Luc will slowly enter Lily’s heart and when he does, their relationship will make you scream. It’s the little things that always get to me; that small hand touch, the automatic-feels-natural hug, the worrying about that person when they’re not there. Lucy Parker manages to capture my soul and heart and this book has become one of my top favorites ever.
Hold Me by Courtney Milan
I couldn’t NOT mention this book. If you know me, you know this is one of my number one favorite books. This book is everything and the couple as well. At first you’re going to dislike Jay so much, because he judges Maria so hard and gets in his head really crappy things. But wow, the character development and the story that goes from that point? Magical. Jay and Maria don’t like each other in real life. Did I just say in real life? Yes, I did! Because, wait and see…. Maria and Jay know each other online but they have different names and when they meet in real life, neither of them know that they already knew each other! It’s so fun to see them interact and that growth you see in each of these characters…you’re going to adore it. If you love the You’ve Got Mail trope, Hold Me is the book you’re searching for!
Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai
All of these are my favorite books so I will stop mentioning how every single one is my favorite LMAO! But truly Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai is another level. It’s full of angsty moments for sure, I cried throughout all the chapters and I don’t regret a thing. Alisha Rai wrote a story between two rival families and two childhood sweethearts who thought they were it for each other. But circumstances happened and they got on their separate ways. Still they meet one day a year so they can relive those emotions and try really hard not to fall again. When Livvy comes back into town after years away, Nicholas will do everything to make her stay.
Chasing Mr. Prefect by Katt Briones
I will keep mentioning this book until everyone picks it up, I swear. When I tell you it reminded me of the Korean drama Weighlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, I’m not joking! OH MY GOD. The sweetness, the friendship, the undeniable love the guy feels for the heroine, you all, you’re not ready for this book. There is obvious dislike at first because he’s wonderboy, prefect of the school and she is the troublemaker. Cholo is so adorable and yet he tries to act cool in front of Vinnie but it never works! They form this friendship so easily and call each other at all hours and just are in each other’s company because they get so happy when they do. I tell you this: both of their families don’t even BLINK when those two get together. They all were making bets when were they going to finally take that step. Oh boy, I absolutely adore this book!
Why I Loathe Sterling Lane by Ingrid Paulson
This is a YA romcom but it’s definitely going on my list. Why? Because it has one of the best rivals to lovers trope ever. They, Harper and Sterling, don’t have a good relationship. They hate each other, make pranks and schemes so the other gets the fault, it’s an endless game for them and they enjoy it so much. Taking place in a boarding school, Harper is one of the smartest people in her class and her twin is also a very popular guy. But their lives change when Sterling Lane enter this little boarding school. Harper doesn’t like him, Sterling doesn’t like her. Yet he becomes fast friends with her brother. But when her brother is framed for something he didn’t do, these two have to team up and save him! My heart sings just remembering this novel. I got so invested with this story and the characters. It was truly one of the best contemporary I’ve ever read.
The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You by Lily Anderson
And if I have to mention the one on top, I have to mention this one. I have a growing love for Lily Anderson’s books. I first read her second novel, Not Now Not Ever, before reading her debut, but this one had been in my TBR for so long. When I finally got the opportunity to read it, I devoured it. DEVOURED IT. One night, a few hours. It captured me completely and since then I’ve reread it a few times.
These two are rivals, they are number 3 and 4 in their class and their war to be better than the other one is on for this year at school. They are geeks and their insults for each other are always so funny and perfect. Both love Doctor Who and comic books. But still they don’t like each other AT ALL. Their friends know this. But when their best friends start dating, they seem to be spending a lot of time together now, and maybe… they don’t hate each other that much. This book will bright up your morning and become your favorite.
Well these are some of my favorite hate to love romances. And I said before, if you have favorites of your own or also love some of my favorites, tell us!!! I always love to collect more books for my TBR, because I have given up already and wish for my TBR to be as tall as it’d like to be. Be what you want to be me, my love.
